(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on April 3, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

On April 18, Anderson Silva will be back in the Octagon to take on fellow Brazilian Thales Leites at UFC 97.

The question is, which Anderson Silva will show up?

Will it be the lethal, cold-blooded, and efficient fighting machine that destroyed the likes of Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, and Dan Henderson? Or will it be the mercurial, seemingly-bored and uninspired fighter that toyed with Patrick Cote five months ago?

In a previous article (Another year for Pacquiao, Silva to prove doubters wrong), I mentioned that Silva did what he did in his last fight because I believed he felt that Cote wasn’t a worthy enough opponent: ”I attribute Silva’s less-than-stellar showing in his last outing to boredom. He has fought every possible contender in his weight class, annihilated every one of them, and he needs to step it up. Maybe Dana White should consider putting Chuck Liddell in the Octagon opposite Silva? Or how about the winner of the upcoming George St.-Pierre – BJ Penn fight? The point is, as good a fighter as Silva is, he needs to be fighting top contenders instead of tomato cans for him to be challenged. Give him an opponent who he knows could hurt him and even take him out, and Silva wouldn’t even think of toying with the other guy. I guarantee you’ll see the old Silva back in action.

I said it then, I say it now. Silva’s performance will depend on whether he thinks Leites will be an opponent of caliber worth taking seriously. That said, fight fans, and even Dana White should keep their fingers crossed. I, for one, am keeping my fingers crossed as well. I want to see the old Silva back in action; I want to enjoy an exciting fight. Who doesn’t?

In any case, I think Silva had better take Leites seriously.

Fifteen fights, 14 wins, one lone loss. Nine wins by submission, two by knockout. Five straight wins in a row. Yes, Leites’s record speaks for itself. He isn’t a fighter Silva can just brush off or dismiss; he’s a

legitimate livewire opponent. So I have a feeling that Silva will indeed bring his “A” game come fight night.

I also believe that depending on the outcome of the fight, it’s time for Silva to move up permanently to the light heavyweight division. Silva once tested the division’s waters a year ago and knocked out James Irvin in the first round.

Maybe a move up to light heavyweight will keep Anderson Silva hungry, and, more importantly the fight fans happy.

Liddell’s last stand

Speaking about hunger, in a previous article (Last Stand for the Iceman), I wrote about Chuck Liddell’s losses of late and speculated that it might have something to do with his diminishing hunger for the game: “Many people will point to Liddell’s age as one of the factors that has contributed to his slump as of late. His last two losses have been dealt by Evans and Jardine, fighters much younger and fresher than him. But I suspect that it is more than age that has resulted in Liddell’s recent losses. I see a fighter that has reached the pinnacle of success and has become complacent, a fighter that has lost his hunger and drive as a result. In order to be on top again, Liddell has to go back to the basics and find the hunger to do what he does best, and that is to fight.”

A reader was gracious enough to comment on my write up: “I think Chuck is one of the greats for sure, but I think his days on top are over, along with many of the greats. I think it’s a combination of age and not having the hunger to fight anymore but I think the world of MMA has also hit a new level. Some of the new guns on the show are just flat out better, faster, and stronger. With MMA growing so fast and becoming so popular we are seeing a lot more faces in the ring, most of them with a huge background of talent that is soon going to outshine all of our old favorites. Like I said I’m not trying to bash Chuck, he’s one of my favorites but we are seeing the out with the old and in with the new stage of MMA, time to see new Joes become greats.”

Liddell vs. Mauricio Rua will be UFC 97’s co-main event. And in my opinion, this will be Liddell’s last chance to show if he still has what it takes to be an elite, top caliber fighter, his age notwithstanding. Who knows? Perhaps Liddell can turn back time and pull off one impressive win just for old times’ sake.

Perhaps the Iceman might just give one more vintage performance to make a believer once again out of our dear reader?

If not, then maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Liddell to finally hang up the MMA gloves, enjoy his retirement, and look back on a storied, successful career.